Authors

1Jordi Gómez Gómez, 2Amanda Montserrat Secorún Torres

Position

¹Enfermero asistencial. Hospital Universitario Vall d´Hebrón. Área General. Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos.

Contact address

Jordi Gómez Gómez. C/ Independencia, 249, 2º. 08026 Barcelona.

Contact email: jgg3214@gmail.com

Abstract

Efficient control of sedation is essential in critically ill patients. An
inadequate praxis in relation to the type or dose of the drug selected may trigger complications of oversedation (hemodynamic changes and
increased duration of mechanical ventilation) or infrasedation (agitation, respiratory mismatch and risk of injury).
Sedation should always be controlled and monitored. To monitor the
level of sedation of critically ill patients there are subjective and objective assessment tools. Sedation scales are subjective tools used to assess mild sedation. The bispectral index monitoring (BIS) is the most widely used objective tool to assess critical patients under deep sedation or muscle relaxation, two situations in which the scales are shown to be inefficient when used alone as an assessment tool. In these circumstances, BIS monitoring is established as an objective, sensitive and useful tools.
This article provides an updated review of the BIS monitoring system in order to facilitate analysis and interpretation of the parameters monitored and properly apply the nursing care of critically ill patients under deep sedation, barbiturate coma, or myorelaxant therapy.

Keywords:

Bispectral index; critically ill patients; Sedation monitoring; sedation scales

Versión en Español

Título:

Guía enfermera para la monitorización del índice biespectral